A storage server is a special purpose processing system used to store and retrieve data on behalf of one or more clients. A file server is an example of a storage server. A file server operates on behalf of one or more clients to store and manage shared files in a set of mass storage devices, such as magnetic or optical storage-based disks or tapes. In various prior art systems, the file server may communicate with the aforementioned clients over a wide area network. One example of such a system includes the Open Systems SnapVault® (OSSV) system available from Network Appliance, Inc.
In use, the file server may incorporate various features such as the generation of certain kinds of data storage images. Image generation may, for example, include mirroring, where a mirror copy of certain data at one location is maintained at another location, snapshots, and/or clones of data. Mirroring of data may be done for various different purposes. For instance, mirroring provides a mechanism for ensuring data availability and minimizing down time, and may be used to provide disaster recovery. In addition, snapshots provide point-in-time images of data, and clones generally provide a writeable image of data, which may be used for various purposes in data operations.
When the foregoing image generation techniques are carried out over a network, data is often subdivided at the client into data blocks which are, in turn, communicated over the network to the associated file server. Due to network bandwidth limitations, this often requires a significant amount of time to complete the desired task, particularly when dealing with large amounts of data. Moreover, limitations with typical file server systems complicate any attempt to leverage known compression techniques.
In particular, most file server systems are equipped to only handle a predetermined data block size. Thus, any attempt to compress the aforementioned data blocks would render data blocks of a different size, which are incapable of being processed by the file server system without a significant overhaul of the system. There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.